


Ohana

by BookedbyFandoms, delicatelyglitterywriter



Series: The Fluffverse: Peggy and Bucky Fitzsimmons [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexuality, Fitzsimmons Fluffverse, Multi, fsfv
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:43:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9070216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookedbyFandoms/pseuds/BookedbyFandoms, https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicatelyglitterywriter/pseuds/delicatelyglitterywriter
Summary: "Ohana means family""Family is more than just DNA. It's about people who care, and take care of each other"(-Lilo and Stitch and NCIS, respectively)A series of one shots  revolving around Daisy and her adopted daughter, Alya. Aside from the first chapter, chapters will not be in chronological order. Alya's age will be listed at the beginning of each chapter





	1. Our First Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> For [agentsofskyeward](http://archiveofourown.org/users/agentofskyeward/pseuds/agentofskyeward) the Fitzsimmons Network Secret Santa.
> 
> Translations in the { } as needed

 

“Ma. Psst, mama!”

Daisy blinked open her eyes and was greeted by the face of six-year-old Alya just inches from hers. She’d have yelped in surprise from such a sudden wake-up, but she’d been awoken like this before. So, instead, she just reached out and lazily pushed the girl’s hair back.

“Morning, Alya.”

“It’s Christmas, ma. Our first Christmas ever.”

Daisy smiled at her, “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

She’d decided to adopt Alya a year and a half ago. Only, the excessive amounts of paperwork and channels she had to go through because Alya was from a different country meant that she’d not been able to bring her daughter home until February this year.

But it had all been worth it. Daisy wouldn’t trade a second of the process if it meant she got to love Alya forever.

“Yeah. Can we open presents?”

Daisy chuckled at her daughter’s ( _god_ , it felt good to be able to call a little girl her daughter) enthusiasm. It reminded her of when she had been a child herself. Except she’d sometimes missed out on celebrations, due to either being in a crappy family or in between families. She was going to make sure Alya never experienced that.

“Breakfast first,” she tapped Alya’s nose, “ _then_ presents.”

Alya let out a small huff, but agreed. Daisy watched affectionately as Alya rolled off the bed and hurried down the stairs. She was so enthusiastic; so full of life. It’s no wonder Daisy had fallen in love with her the moment she’d seen her.

She peeled herself out of her nice, warm, cozy bed, slipped into her slippers and padded downstairs. She found Alya already in the kitchen, attempting to put together batter for pancakes.

“Woah, there!” Daisy laughed, prying the little girl’s hands off the stuff. “Let me take care of this. You go sit down and wait.”

“But, mama!” Alya whined. “I’ll be bored if I sit and do nothing! I wanna help!”

Daisy pulled her lips to one side as Alya pulled the Puppy Eyes. It was true: Daisy was a bit overprotective of her. But they’d only been together for 10 months, so she was still nervous about Alya hurting herself. Bobbi and Jemma had encouraged her to loosen up a little, and the Puppy Eyes were quite convincing, so she gave in.

“Alright. You can help.”

Alya’s eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning (which was funny, because it was Christmas morning), and Daisy smiled at her eagerness. She then instructed her on how to help with making the pancakes. They finished with very little mess, and when Alya wanted to help cook the pancakes, Daisy refused. She was far too young to be handling hot things. Daisy even managed to say no to the Puppy Eyes.

It wasn’t long before the two girls were at the table, having a contest to see who could fit the most pancakes into their mouth. Daisy was admittedly impressed by Alya – she had an incredibly big mouth for such a little girl. It only took about ten minutes for the plates to be licked completely clean.

“Can we open the presents now?” Alya bounced up and down in her seat. Daisy shook her head with a small smile on her face.

“You have to get dressed. Grandma and grandpa are coming over.”

Alya immediately stopped bouncing and dropped her gaze to her lap. Daisy sighed and placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Alya looked up, her eyes wide and unsure.

“You scared, Alya?” Daisy’s voice was soft and non-judgemental; she knew what it felt like to be meeting extended family for the first time. Alya nodded and Daisy massaged her shoulder comfortingly.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. Your grandma and grandpa are wonderful people. I have a feeling you’re going to like them a lot.”

“But what if I don’t?” It was so quiet, Daisy nearly missed it. She felt like crying when she saw how terrified Alya looked – not of her grandparents, but of disappointing Daisy.

“If you don’t, then I won’t make you see them ever again,” she promised, and then smiled softly. “But I highly doubt that that will happen. Come on, let’s get you dressed.”

Alya nodded and took her mother’s hand, and together they went up to get dressed. Then they headed downstairs to wait for Grandma and Grandpa. They didn’t have to wait long. Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Alya smoothed her dress nervously, and Daisy pulled her in for a quick hug and a kiss to the top of her.

“Don’t worry,” she assured softly, before going to answer the door. She was greeted by a smiling Coulson and May. It was rare that may smiled even a little and to see her grinning almost as widely as Coulson was as shocking as a purple moon.

“Hey, kiddo!” Coulson greeted chirpily. “Merry Christmas!”

“Hey, guys. Merry Christmas to you too. Thanks for coming!”

“We wouldn’t miss it.” May’s comment made Daisy feel warm and fuzzy – it was always nice to be reminded that people cared. She stepped aside to let them in.

“So, where is she?” Coulson asked as Daisy closed the door. She turned around and found that Alya was no longer standing there. Her smile dropped as a wave of empathy for Alya washed over her.

“Just a second. Make yourselves comfy by the tree, yeah?”

“It’ll be hard to keep him away from the presents,” May teased, eliciting an eye roll and playful protest from Coulson. Daisy left them to kiss it out, or wrestle, or do whatever they planned to do.

She quickly found her daughter hiding in her room. She was sitting on her bed with her knees hugged tightly to her chest and her face buried in her knees.

“Alya?” Alya’s head shot up. She looked terrified.

“Please don’t be mad! I just…” she trailed off, looking back to the wall in front of her. Daisy sat down next to her and put her hand on her back.

“I’m not mad. I just…” Daisy grappled with the right words to use. When she came up empty, she changed her train of thought, “Please just meet them?”

“I’m sorry,” Alya whispered. Daisy could see the tears starting to gather in Alya’s eyes, and she got a sudden sick feeling to her stomach. She knew too well what it felt like to be scared to do something but even more scared to how her new parents would react.

Daisy decided that her daughter was not going to grow up with that same fear. She pulled Alya in for a big bear hug.

“It’s okay,” she soothed. “Meeting grandma and grandpa is scary. But I’ll be right there with you, okay? I won’t get mad. I promise. Deal?”

Alya sniffled and nodded, meeting her mother’s gaze. Daisy smiled gently, reached over for a tissue and wiped Alya’s eyes and nose. She then took Alya’s hand in hers and guided her downstairs.

“Coulson, May, this is Alya,” she introduced as they entered the living room. Coulson and May were on their feet in an instant. Daisy kept her hands on Alya’s shoulders, as both a comfort and a silent plea that she not run away again.

“Hi, Alya,” Coulson greeted, kneeling down to her high. “I’m Phil, your grandpa.”

“Hi,” Alya said softly, keeping her eyes on the ground.

“Alya adalah cantik sekali,”{You (Alya) are very pretty} May said. Alya’s head shot up in surprise, her eyes hopeful.

“Really?” May nodded and was rewarded with a timid, yet bright smile from Alya.

“Terima kasih, Nenek.”{Thank you, Grandma}

“Kembali.”{You’re welcome}

Alya pulled away from Daisy and walked over to May and then grabbed her hands, looking up into her eyes. May smiled affectionately. Daisy swallowed hard. She’d only ever seen May look that way and her, Fitz and Jemma – like they were her own children. Now, this child that she got to call a granddaughter made Daisy value that smile even more.

May gently pulled her hands free of Alya’s, and instead used them to scoop the girl up. Alya immediately latched onto her grandmother and buried her head in the crook of May’s neck. It made Daisy want to cry, that the two loved each other so much already.

“How come she didn’t greet me like that?” Coulson pouted playfully, adding to the incredibly sweet moment.

“Because I’m better than you,” May shot back. Coulson furrowed his brow overdramatically. Daisy felt embarrassed at how much of a dad he was being.

“No, that can’t be it,” he mused playfully. He opened his mouth to continue, but Daisy cut him off.

“Coulson!” she whined, only just able to keep the smile off her face. “I invited you here to celebrate, not pretend you’re in…acting school!”

Coulson and May exchanged an amused look and Daisy rolled her eyes.

“Alya, would you like to open presents?” Alya looked up and then back to May, then whispered in her ear. May nodded and moved to sit down.

“Let’s open presents,” May said, and so Daisy started handing them out. They all oohed and aahed and said thank you as the wrapping paper was torn off.

Alya sat on May’s lap the whole time, allowing her to her grandmother to help her open the presents. Daisy watched on with affection as the two giggled and bonded, even in what might have seemed a small way.

Alya’s smile only dropped when Coulson removed his arm and put a chip in it. She didn’t look alarmed, or scared however, she just looked curious and turned her head back towards May.

“Grandma, why is grandpa’s arm not on his body?”

May chuckled, “That’s your grandpa’s story to tell.”

Alya looked at Coulson expectantly as he put his arm back on.

“Well, myself and your uncles Fitz and Mack were fighting this man with teleportation powers. That meant that he could move from place to place without walking. He could just sort of…move there. Anyway, we were fighting over these crystals called Terrigen Crystals. Terrigen Crystals either kill you or make you into an Inhuman.”

“What’s an Inhuman?”

“Someone with super powers,” Daisy explained. “Like, when Mama makes things shake.”

Alya nodded in understanding and refocused on Coulson. It blew Daisy away that Alya just found out that her mother had superpowers and was not at all fazed. She never ceased to be amazed at how carefree, yet understanding and insightful children were.

“So, Fitz stabbed this guy and he dropped the crystal. Me, Fitz and Mack would die if the crystal broke, So, I dove and caught it! Only, I didn’t have the DNA needed to become Inhuman so I started dying. But your uncle Mack saved my life by chopping off my arm. Then your uncle Fitz made me this bionic arm and I can put cool things on it.”

“That’s cool.” Coulson grinned at her.

“I know, right? Wanna come see it up close?”

Alya looked tentatively up at May, who gave her an encouraging nod. She then quickly ducked her head and whispered something in Alya’s ear, which made her giggle. Alya then slid off her grandma’s lap and climbed up onto her grandpa’s.

After a few minutes of watching them bond, Daisy felt comfortable enough that Alya wasn’t going to have a meltdown and so she left the both of them to their own devices, and ducked into the kitchen. She’d never been the best cook, but she’d learnt years ago that you could usually get away with just shoving things in the oven for a little while.

So that’s what she did. Given that she wasn’t the best cook, she’d only gotten turkey, ham and chicken, plus a couple of veggies, some bread rolls and some stuff for a salad. Salad was the only thing that she was pro at making, because it was impossible to burn a salad.

She rolled her tongue around in her mouth, wondering what to make first. If she did the turkey and chicken first, then the salad would be ready closer to the time the meat was. But if she did the salad first, then she could spend more time just hanging out with her family.

She eventually decided to do the salad first.

Daisy hummed quietly to herself as she cut the ingredients and chucked them in a bowl. It was done in just under five minutes, and smiled to herself. She was getting better at making food quickly. She glanced up at the clock and shrugged; the turkey and chicken wouldn’t need to go in for at least another half hour.

So, she went back to join Coulson, May and Alya. She quickly joined in on the conversation of Colour Feelings (that is, how colours made each person feel). It was a very insightful conversation that Daisy thoroughly enjoyed. It was interrupted, however, when Alya suddenly frowned at her.

“Mama, why is your hand all red?” Daisy looked down to see that her hand was covered in blood. Her heart skipped a beat.

_What the hell?_

She turned her hand over and found a deep gash along her left index finger. It didn’t appear long in dimension, but it was deep enough that it had dribbled all over her hand and onto the floor.

_How did I not feel that?_

Daisy wasn’t sure what to do. She cast a glance over at May, who responded immediately.

“Coulson, why don’t you read to Alya for a little while?”

“That’s a good idea,” Coulson agreed. “What do you want to read, Alya?”

“Dr Seuss!” she answered immediately, taking Coulson’s hand and dragging him upstairs to where the books were. Daisy watched them go and listened Alya ramble on about how much she loved Dr Seuss until they were all the way up the stairs and out of sight.

She turned back to May helplessly. Without a word, May made her stand up, took her to the kitchen and made her put her hand under the tap, while she went to fetch the First Aid Kit. When she returned, she sat Daisy down at the table and stitched her up before bandaging it.

After she was done, Daisy stood up and turned to go back to the kitchen, but May’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“Where are you going?”

“To finish cooking lunch.”

May’s eyebrows shot up and she shook her head, “Sit.”

Daisy opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by May’s glare. She relented with a huff.

“Fine.” She begrudgingly shuffled into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

What was she going to do since she was forbidden from cooking lunch? She could go on her laptop, but that might cause more harm than good, considering her wound. She’d read a book, but she’d never been a particularly strong reader.

She quickly decided just to stare at the Christmas lights. They were pretty the way they twinkled all different colours. Her thoughts began to wander as she stared, but they were cut off by Coulson and Alya bouncing back down the stairs.

“Aren’t you supposed to be reading together?” Daisy asked as Alya climbed up onto her lap.

“We finished,” Alya said, laying her head on her mother’s shoulder. Daisy cast a confused glance at Coulson.

“We made it through a whole book before she decided we’d had enough Dr Seuss for one day.”

Daisy nodded and then ducked her head to place a kiss on top of Alya’s head. Alya then found Daisy’s injured hand and grabbed it gently in hers.

“Aduh!”{Oh, no; expression of disappointed surprise} Alya exclaimed sympathetically when she saw the bandage. “Alya will kiss it better.”

This was followed by Alya pressing her lips to the bandage. She then smiled.

“There. All better.”

“Thank you, Alya,” Daisy said. “It’ll be better in no time now.”

Alya nodded, and nestled her head again against Daisy’s shoulder.

“Hey, mama, would you tell me some more stories of when you used to work with grandpa?”

“Sure,” Daisy agreed, sneaking a glance at Coulson. “Which one would you like to hear?”

Alya scrunched up her mouth thoughtfully before reaching a decision, “Tell me one I haven’t heard before.”

Daisy raised her eyebrows. One that Alya hadn’t heard before….Daisy thought about which one she hadn’t told Alya.

“Let’s see…have I told you the one about the 0-8-4 in Peru?”

“Yeah. I hope that lady is rotting away nicely.”

Coulson snorted, and then disguised it as coughing. Daisy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning too widely.

“Okay….what about the one where I pretended to be your grandma?”

“Yes,” Alya giggled. “That one’s funny.”

“Yeah, it is,” Daisy agreed with a chuckle. “Oh! Have I ever told you the story of how I met your grandpa?”

“No.”

Daisy smiled fondly and leaned back against the couch, Alya moving with her. She slid her good hand behind her head for support before she began.

“Well, before I met your grandpa, I was a member of a group called the Rising Tide….”

A few hours and couple dozen stories later, May called them into the dining room for lunch. Alya was the first to move, positively ecstatic about eating her first Christmas lunch with her new family. Coulson and Daisy followed shortly after.

The table was set up fancily; it somewhat resembled a Pinterest picture of a Christmas table, just with a slightly more elegant touch, Daisy thought. She took her seat next to Alya and Coulson and May sat down opposite of them.

Daisy noticed that not only were her salad, bread rolls, ham, chicken and turkey there, but there was also a fruit platter and a plate of what appeared to be pikelets.

“Apa yang itu, Nenek?”{What’s that, Grandma?} Alya asked, pointing to the pikelet-like things.

“Potato pancakes,” May answered, passing the bread rolls to Coulson. “Just like my grandmother used to make them.”

Alya was quick to get Daisy to help her put a couple on her plate, along with some turkey, chicken, ham, a bread roll and some salad, but only because Daisy made her. Daisy, May and Coulson chatted and ate and laughed, and Alya focused intently on eating her food.

It was about halfway through the meal that May spoke up, being the first to notice Alya’s unusual quietness and indifference.

“Alya, apa yang salah?”{What’s the matter, Alya?} Alya’s chin quivered before the tears started spilling out. Daisy’s heart skipped another beat, but before she could react, May was beside her daughter, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Alya pressed her small palms up against her eyes.

“H-Hati Alya sangat p-penuh,”{My (Alya’s) heart is very full; overwhelmed} she uttered out in between sobs. May nodded in understanding and pulled her in close for a hug. The whole exchange made Daisy feel at ease. Maybe it was the reassurance that Alya loved her grandparents very much, or perhaps it was the silent assurance that she didn’t have to do this parenting thing alone.

May hushed the child and embraced her, murmuring foreign phrases to her. Daisy watched as Alya slowly calmed down. It wasn’t too long before Alya had stopped crying. She sniffled and swiped at her eyes. She smiled weakly at her grandmother.

“Kamu baik, kami baik, itu baik,”{You’re okay, we’re okay, it’s okay} May soothed, smoothing Alya’s hair down with her hand. Alya bobbed her head up and down.

“Alya baik,”{I’m okay} she murmured. “Terima kasih, Nenek.”{Thank you, Grandma}

“Kembali. Nenek kasih Alya.”{You’re welcome. I (Grandma) love you (Alya)}

“Dan Alya kasih Nenek.”{And I (Alya) love you (Grandma)} May smiled at Alya and gave her a gentle squeeze before turning her attention back to lunch.

“Mari kita menghabiskan makan siang.”{Let’s finish lunch} Alya nodded and let May help her eat the first few bites before she gave a signal that she was okay now. May gave her one last squeeze before moving back to her seat. Daisy and Coulson resumed eating and conversation continued. This time, Alya joined in.

Lunch and dessert passed with nothing but smiles and a couple of disgusted looks from both May and Daisy when Coulson brought up different kinds of insects. The ladies then retired to the living room, leaving Coulson to do the dishes, under May’s insistence that Daisy was in no condition to do any sort of work involving her hands and that she herself made lunch.

Coulson had suggested that Alya could do them, but that had quickly been shut down by both May and Alya. Daisy had chuckled and led her family into the living room. Alya curled up on Daisy’s lap and Daisy played with her daughter’s hair absent-mindedly as she continued chatting with May.

Coulson joined them not too long afterwards, and the four of them relaxed until May and Coulson decided they should take off so they could get to the Fitzsimmons’ place in time for dinner. It was then that Alya lazily turned her head to look up at her mother.

“Mama?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we see grandma and grandpa again on Home Day?” Daisy’s mile grew soft and she ran a hand along Alya’s cheek lovingly.

“Sure. That sounds like a good idea.”

“Home Day?” May furrowed her brow in confusion. Alya sat up.

“It’s like a birthday,” Alya explained. “Except it’s the day a person gets their home. Mine is February 10th.”

“It’s the day that she finally came to live with me,” Daisy clarified for the still confused May and Coulson. “The day she was ‘officially’ adopted.”

May’s lips twitched upwards in a heartfelt smile, and Coulson looked as if he might cry from the hefty amount of sentiment contained within the idea.

“Being a grandfather is making you soft,” May teased, giving his arm a playful whack. He grinned back at her, still with moist eyes.

“I learn from the best,” he teased back. Daisy covered her mouth, highly amused. May looked like she was torn between laughing and shooting him. The joke went right over Alya’s head.

“So will you guys see me on Home Day?” Alya asked, looking hopeful.

“We’d love to,” Coulson said, kneeling down to her height. Yeah, he was definitely becoming soft due to his grandfather status. Alya almost knocked him over as she attacked him with a hug. He hugged her back. Then it was May’s turn to be hugged. Daisy could have sworn she saw a tear slide from May’s eye, but she didn’t dare bring it up.

“Bye, grandma and grandpa,” Alya said, clinging onto her mother’s hand as they walked out the front door after hugging Daisy.

“We’ll see you in a few months,” Coulson promised and May offered a smile, nod, and even a wave, before they both turned and walked to their car. Daisy and Alya stood on their front doorstep and waved at the car as it drove off, until it was out of sight. Alya then turned back to her mother.

“What do we do now, mama?”

“We watch a movie together.” Daisy guided her back into the house, closing the door behind them.

“What movie are we going to watch?” Alya sat down on the couch. Daisy grabbed the remote, sat down next to Alya and scrolled through the movies she had saved. She grinned when she saw which movie was at the top of the list.

“I think you’ll really like ‘Mulan’.”


	2. (Not) Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not having a crush doesn't make a person broken. Daisy does her best to convince Alya of this fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content warning:** mention of someone being kicked out because they're gay.
> 
> Really nervous about posting this one. I hope I did okay

Daisy was on the phone when Alya walked in the door. 

“Already tried that, didn’t work,” Daisy informed Jemma on the other end. To Alya she said, “Hey, Alya.”

Jemma said something to her, but she wasn’t paying attention, watching her now fourteen-year-old walk past her, shoulders slumped and head down. Daisy watched as Alya ascended the stairs, not giving any sort of greeting. A few seconds later, the door closed and Daisy furrowed her brow, wondering what had Alya so upset.

“Daisy?”

Jemma’s voice snapped Daisy back into the present.

“Huh?”

“I said: try unplugging it, and then plug it in again. It should reset and work again. Were you not listening?”

“Uh, yeah, thanks, Jem. Listen, I gotta go. Alya’s home. I’ll call you back. Bye.”

She hung up before she processed Jemma’s goodbye. She put the phone down, resting her hands on the countertop. Should she go see Alya now, or wait for a little while and hope Alya felt better with time? 

She ultimately decided to go investigate immediately. 

Daisy quietly went up to Alya’s room, knocking softly.

“Alya? Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Alya sighed from the other side of the door. Daisy slowly pushed it open, taking in the sight of Alya laying on her tummy on her bed, chin resting on her pillow. Daisy sat down carefully on the edge of her bed. Placing a hand on her back, Daisy began to rub comforting circles on her back.

“What’s the matter, Alya?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

Daisy raised her eyebrows. “Fine for you is bouncing off the walls, and running around screeching, and arguing with my parenting decisions. You’re not fine.”

She heard Alya huff a laugh, followed by a sigh. Daisy waited until Alya was ready to speak. 

“I think I’m broken.”

Daisy was taken aback by the words. A million thoughts of what caused Aya to say that tumbled through her head. She hushed them. She needed to focus on her daughter, not her her own paranoia.

“What makes you think that?” she asked. Alya sighed again, pushing herself up into a sitting position, her legs crossed, facing Daisy. She fiddled with a loose thread on her pants. 

“There’s something wrong with me. I’m broken.”

“What’s making you say that?” Daisy coaxed. 

There was nothing more she wanted than to tell Alya that she wasn’t broken, that she was beautiful and perfect in every way, but she knew that would cause Alya to crawl back into her shell and not talk to her. She needed to listen. So she did.

“The girls at school,” Alya explained, staring at her lap. “They were talking today about crushes and stuff, and asking each other who they had crushes on, and then they asked me, and I couldn’t answer because I don’t have one. I told them I didn’t, but they thought I was lying, and so I had to say a boy’s name even though I don’t like him.”

“Oh, Allie,” Daisy soothee, reaching out to put a hand on her knee. “You’re only fourteen. You don’t have to have a crush yet. It may not happen for a few more-”

“You don’t  _ get _ it, ma!” Alya cut in, looking up. Daisy felt like she’d been punched at the helplessness in Alya’s eyes. “ _ Every _ girl in my class has a crush! I am the  _ only _ one who doesn’t! And as far as I know, every boy in the class has one, too. I’m the only kid that doesn’t. You can’t look at me and tell me there’s nothing wrong with me!”

Daisy let Alya rant and rave and her eyes fill with tears. She knew the next thing she said would determine if Alya kept talking to her. She had to ask the right question to get to the bottom of this. She thought hard for a few seconds, trying to think of the right question. Then, one particular thought filtered through her mind that caught her interest. It was a risky question - it could either open up a meaningful discussion, or cause Alya to not speak to her ever again about romance or relationships. 

Still, the riskier it was, the greater the potential reward, right? Daisy decided it was the right question.

“Are you interested in having a crush? Is that something you want?”

Alya’s gaze snapped up to her and she blinked a few times, shocked, before answering.

“I-I don’t know,” she admitted. “Not really, I guess? Wait, does that mean I really am broken? Why would you ask me that?!”

“Alya, breathe,” Daisy instructed gently, her tone just firm enough to catch Alya before she spiralled. She waited as Alya caught her breath and calmed down a bit before resuming. “No, you are not broken for not wanting a crush.”

“Really?” Her eyes hold a glimmer of hope for the first time since the beginning of the exchange. Daisy nodded.

“Really. It sound to me as if you might be ace.”

“What?” Alya’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What’s that mean?”

“Short for asexual,” Daisy explained. “It means...well, you know how there’s homosexual, and bisexual, and pansexual, and everything?”

Alya nodded.

“Well, aseuxal is another sexuality. It means that someone doesn’t feel attraction. They don’t get crushes like everyone else.”

“Oooooohhhhhhh.” Alya thought for a moment. “So, you’re saying I’m asexual?”

“I’m saying I  _ think _ you  _ might _ be. You have to decide that for yourself. I don’t get to tell you that.”

Alya thought some more. “Why can’t you? How will I know if I am?”

Daisy smiled a little. There was her little girl; asking a million different questions. 

“I can’t because I don’t know you as well as you know yourself. I can’t tell you you feel a certain way. Only you can tell you that. And as for how to know, well, you just will. I’m not sure how to describe it.”

“Okay.” Alya nodded again. “Would...would you, uh, still love me if I was?”

“Of course,” Daisy said without hesitation. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Alya looked down again. “Billy in the tenth grade got kicked out by his parents ‘coz he’s gay.”

Daisy sighed, opening her arms for Alya. Alya crawled in and snuggled up.

“Does he have somewhere to stay?”

Alya nodded. 

“I heard he’s staying with his older brother.” She looked up, her eyes once again shining with tears. “You wouldn’t ever kick me out because of who I liked, would you?”

“Never,” Daisy assured her, dropping a kiss to the top her head. “Not in a million years.”

“Or if I didn’t like anyone at all?”

“I would never kick you out for any reason,” Daisy promised, holding Alya close. Alya nodded against her chest. There was a rather long silence, of Daisy simply comforting Alya. After a while, Alya sighed again.

“Can you tell me more about asexuality?”

Daisy smiled. “I want to, but sadly, I’m not very knowledgeable about it. You could talk to your Oma about it, though. I know she knows quite a bit about it.”

“Okay.” Alya nodded again, pushing herself up and out of the embrace. “Then can you tell me why all the sexualities are called why they’re called that? Like, why ‘homo’, ‘bi’, ‘pan’, ‘a’?”

Daisy laughed. “So full of questions. Tell you what, I’ll answer it after you’ve done your homework.”

Alya sat up, crossing her arms over her chest in a challenge. “You’re just saying that because you don’t know the answer.”

Damn child. She knew Daisy had a hard time backing down from a challenge. Daisy had gotten better at it, but it was still hard. Still, she couldn’t let Alya not do her homework.

“And  _ you’re _ just saying that to get out of homework,” Daisy countered, booping her nose. “Now, downstairs, books out, homework done.”

Alya grumbled, but did as she was told. Daisy followed her down to make sure Alya actually did her homework. Once she was satisfied Alya was doing it, she slipped into the kitchen and picked up the phone again, dialling a different number from before. 

“Hello?” May’s voice answered. Daisy grinned. 

“Hey, May. Daisy. Can you come over for dinner? There are some questions Alya would like to ask you.”


End file.
